The Gimmethegreenlight filly Gimme A Nother could be set to follow in the SA Triple Tiara footsteps of Summer Pudding and Cherry On The Top who also raced in the same famous yellow and black silks, after she made it a perfect six with a career peak success in Saturday’s R1 250 000 Wilgerbosdrift Gr1 SA Fillies Classic at Turffontein.
JP van der Merwe salutes as Gimme A Nother charges home (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Registering her maiden Gr1 success, and running a cracker in the hands of regular pilot JP van der Merwe, the third generation stakes winner trained by Mike de Kock handled the rise to the 1800m to record a fluent victory.
The conditioner, who turned 60 just over a fortnight ago, observed that Gimme A Nother had hit something of a flat spot at the 400m, before turning on the jets.
Responding to a question about his own nerves, he said he was ‘getting a bit old for this’.
“It’s different when you’re a young buck and ‘ballsy’. Having good horses takes years off your life. But she might well be better than her grandmother Mother Russia,” quipped de Kock, before indicating that his charge had also not yet taken on older fillies.
“The Gr1 Empress Club Stakes looks more enticing than the Gr2 SA Oaks, at this point,” he suggested, as he responded to the possibilities of her joining the Triple Tiara honour roll on 6 April.
The race went according to plan after Bavarian Beauty (14-10 had set the gallop on her return run from the Cape.
Knowing what he had under him, JP van der Merwe got the 3-10 Gimme A Nother to up her game at the 300m and she responded, striding clear with ease to register 111 secs for the 1800m and beat her stablemate and bridesmaid Silver Sanctuary (11-2) by an unextended 4,25 lengths.
The 50-1 Let’s Go Now completed the trifecta, a further three quarter lengths back, with the pacemaker not disgraced in fourth.
Bred by Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein, Gimme A Nother is out of the Tiger Ridge champion, Nother Russia and took her stakes bank to R1,9 million.
While she now looks more likely to tackle mixed age company in the Gr1 Empress Club Stakes, the third leg is the R750 000 Wilgerbosdrift Gr2 SA Oaks over 2450m at Turffontein on Saturday 6 April.
A bonus of R1 million will be paid to the connections of the filly that wins all three legs of the Wilgerbosdrift SA Triple Tiara. Only Gimme A Nother is in line for that cheque.
